SFC Final Players Predictions

Nicky McDonnell, Naomh Martin.

Standard of the Championship this year and would you change the format?

I can’t comment to much on the standard because the only games I was at were the games I was playing in which weren’t great to be honest !

I think if the county board put more emphasis on club football in the county , this in turn would benefit the county team and also benefit the standard of club football. the lack of regard for the club players is poor, take fixtures for example , they just make them up as they go along . Part of the format I would change is the relegation play off, I think whichever team gets relegated in the senior league should automatically drop to intermediate league & champo . only the 12 teams in the senior league play senior champo & no team gets relegated from the champo, whichever team wins intermediate league , goes straight into Senior league / champo.

2.Key Players Battle/Battles for you on Sunday?

Not sure how they’ll line out but I’d love to see califf go head to head with keenan , that would be crucial for clogher, if califf broke 50/50 with keenan , they’ve every chance . Liam Shevlin is for me a very under rated player , if Clogher can get a twist out of him, id play him in a central position & get him to take the game to the pats . Whoever picks up Paddy Keenan, this will be the key battle end of !

and finally
3.Who will win and why?

From playing the two teams in the group stages , id have to fancy the pats , don’t know what it is about them , there just so focused , stick to the game plan & most of all very hard to beat . Kelly should adopt Eamon Fitzmaurice’s game plan against Donegal , play them at their own game ,defend in numbers, frustrate them & stay in the game for the last 10 mins , this is the only way I can see a Clogher win to be honest . I don’t think Kelly will adopt this game plan so that is why I can see the pats win by a few points to spare .

Ben Rogan O’Raghallaighs

1- championship standard has being around the same as previous years, each year you have the surprises and the disappointments;

This year the surprises being the Gaels and Clogher and the disappointments being the O’ Connells and ourselves.

Format of the championship is fine with me, we don’t have enough senior teams to mix it up so i think it’s going to be the same for years to come.

One thing I would change about the championship is the grounds being chosen for double headers and the big games, some just aren’t good enough for them, like CastleBellingham. But we all know why that gets picked!!

2- Key players/battles.

I would say the game will be won around the middle of the field. whoever plays there for Clogher will have to try and stop paddy K and that’s a near impossible task the way he’s being playing this year.

so I’d say Clogher will clog up that area to try and stop paddy’s influence.

Up top, Pepi smith will have to kick a big score if Clogher are to win!

3- Winner

I want to say Clogherhead! as the old gaffer CK is out there now and have a couple of good mates on the team but, it’s hard to see them beaten the Pats, they have being the best team this year we played against. So, if I was betting I would go for Pats by 4/5 points but hoping I’m wrong and Clogher will win big Joe!

Jim McEneaney, Geraldines.

1. I like the championship format. Both group games feel like championship football. It’s the lack of other football surrounding it that can be frustrating. I think something has to be done with the league to give a lot more football. Play everyone home and away on a Friday/Saturday evening or something so that lads still have their weekend and the guarantee of football each week. I think it would allow the league to continue despite county football and help improve the standard of club football. Lads just want to play matches and that’s not happening.

2. Key battles on Sunday:

1- Padraig Rath v Danny O Connor – The Pats tend to leave space in front of him and he is brilliant at winning his own ball so it will be important that Pops stops him.

2- Dreadnotts v Paddy Keenan – Paddy is so hard to track around the middle and it’s important that the Dreadnotts try stop him in numbers, but just as important is trying to put Paddy on the back foot as he tends to track back and help out his defence so coming on to the ball late for scores off Paddy could help. Mark Brennan did it effectively in Dromiskin a few years back.

3- Anthony Williams v Aidan McCann – Aidan McCann is the most under-rated player in the county, gets through a mountain of work and always seems to chip in with a few scores. But, Anthony Williams drives the Dreadnotts from the back by giving and going and I’d imagine both of them will get on the ball a lot on Sundayand whoever can get the edge between them will be a big thing.

4- Peach v Paidi Mallon – The midfield battle will be won and lost between these two as Paidi Mallon is a so good at breaking the ball down to his own man and Peach is great in the air too. Whoever gets on top here could put their team in the driving seat early on.

Finally, I think the Pats will win, haven’t heard many say otherwise. Mainly because there are a few Pats lads that came back to give it one more go and they know exactly what everyone is doing as they’ve played together for a lot longer and under Reel for a good while now. Secondly, they are a lot more clinical than the Dreadnotts and if the Dreadnotts don’t improve their finishing from the semi-final I think they’ll struggle.

Sean Connolly, O’Connells

The standard hasn’t been great at all! A lot of quality young players are playing there trade abroad for a vast majority of it.

The middle third is where the game will be won our lost. The Pats host a shrine of talent in Paddy Keenan and Owen O’Connor but, if the Dreadnots work hard here and close up the routes then they won’t be far off .I think they will have learned as will Kelly after there last encounter..

I’m going to be brave and say a draw here

Michael McKeown,Mattock Rgrs

1. Standard of the Championship this year and would you change the format?

I think the championship had many surprises this year. It was great to see other teams do well like the Gaels reaching the semis and really putting it up to the Dreadnots and forcing a replay. The Dreadnots have put it up to the top teams and came close to st. pats in the group stages and beat Cooley in the quarters and could claim their first Joe Ward this Sunday. Another surprise was seeing the O’connells fight a relegation battle against Kilkerley, when they were tipped as one of the favourites after a good year last year. The format is probably awkward for the amount of teams in the senior championship. Maybe two groups of six with the top two teams playing each other in a semi. This way it might make it that little more competitive and every game as important as the other.

2.Key Players Battle/Battles for you on Sunday?

Obviously Paddy Kennan is one to look out for. He has the ability to control and change a game. A Good battle may be Anthony Williams and Eoin O connor. With O connor coming back from America it will definitely give the pats a lift but I feel Williams will be told to stick tight to him and keep him quiet. If Pats can keep Pepe smith quiet I feel they will outscore the Dreadnots.

3.Who will win and why?

Even though id like to see Dreadnots win as it would be good for Louth football in general, I feel St. Pats are very strong this year and have shown that in the league also. Although Dreadnots will be up for it this year after being beaten in 2011, I think St.Pats experience will take them over the finish line.

David McComish, Dundalk Gaels

1. Standard of the Championship this year and would you change the format?

I thought the standard was quite similar to other years but it’s hard to compare the standard between years. I suppose if you take the Pats/Blues match, which was the fixture as the previous year, you would have to say that it didn’t reach quite the same levels of excitement or perhaps intensity as the previous year. Game plans and tactics seem to be at the heart of more discussions about football this year than the skills you see on show in games. There is the odd occasion when people take note of great individual/team displays but these moments of magic are being pushed out by the collective effort.

I like the current format as it gives teams the opportunity to play knock-out style games in group matches even if they are not that by name. The only problem I would have is the two (with the possibility of more) league matches left to play after the championship has finished up. This, I would imagine, is a major anti-climax for the majority of teams after the disappointment of being knocked out of the main competition.

2.Key Players Battle/Battles for you on Sunday?

and finally
Key match-ups for me on Sunday will be Paddy/Peach in midfield and Danny/Pop in the Pats forward line. Both sets of players are key in what makes each team tick. Peach was very consistent with his place kicking and fielding in both games against us and will have to add to this with a serious work rate to try cancel out Paddy Keenan’s potential dominance in the final. Pop was also very good in the two semi-finals, the second game in particular. He will have his hands full in keeping Daniel off the ball as he acts as the link between the Pats’ blanket defence and attack.

3.Who will win and why?

I think it’s going to be tighter than the last time they met but I can’t see the Pats being bet. They are very good at what they do and have proven that all year. They have been comfortably winning in the league and produced a great team performance to see off the Blues in the semi’s. The Dreadnoughts have the ability to penetrate the Pats’ defence but they will have to take their chances if they are to make a game of it. It will be an interesting game to watch I’m sure. Wishing I was part of it more than ever!

Richard Brennan,Cooley K’hams.

I have mixed views on if I would change the format, good thing is teams get more games but then teams like the Dreadnots win 2 games and they are in a final! (Not sour grapes I swear :P) Hard one to call really.

I think the Championship this far has been just ok not to many stand out games at senior level anyway but the refs haven’t helped that and I think they have been a joke in nearly every game! The standard is soooooo poor the county board need to address that!!

I think Pop will be on Paddy to try and stop him from playing, whoever is on Paddy will be in for a hard days work.

Dessie will pick up smyth and this will be a key battle, if smyth can get on any of his runs he can differently cause problems but I don’t think he will make to many of them down the middle and Goss will be ready to stop anything coming through as they love running the ball.

The Dreadnots have alot of players that make good runs off the ball and come at speed which may cause the pats problems early on but I can’t see that Dreadnots defense stopping the two O connor’s in the full forward line. Aidan Mc Cann has been one of the best players on the Pats team for the last 2 years with his work rate and I think if he gets into the channels he will cut the Dreadnots open and he will lay if off to either of the boys inside to finish.

Tight game for 35/40 minutes but the Pats to win by 6 or more.

Alan Kirk, Ardee St Mary’s

Championship format: I have to say I think the championship format in the county does seem to actually work,! The only frustrating point is, you have to wait till July to play your 1st championship game!
The standard in the games I’ve seen/played in was good. Plus there’s plenty of young talent out there to put on the Louth Jersey next year.

The final: the big battle you would imagine will be Paddy Keenan and James Califf.
Califf will have ta be on top of his game to stop Keenan because as we all know, everything goes through him.A.Williams and D.O’Connor plus I’d imagine Dessie will pick up Pepe which is always a good battle.

Who will win?: I love ta see the Dreadnots win as a neutral and having trained under Colin Kelly he will defo have something up his sleeve for d pats. But, I reckon the Pats will still have too much in the end.
Pats by4/5

Colm Judge, Newtown Blues

1) I haven’t been at too many games so can’t judge but the general consensus is that it has been a fairly average championship, with very few standout games. I don’t think there is anything wrong with the current format but maybe to change things up a bit they could try a knockout format with a backdoor element !

2) Obviously whoever comes out on top around the middle will have a big say on the pattern in which the game will take and ultimately the verdict. Around the middle third the pats will be physically stronger but clogher will try and combat this by using their pace. For me the pats key man is Danny O’Connor, he is their main ball winner and outlet. He has an eye for goal and the pats mid field and half forwards look to run off him from deep, Id expect Pop or Anthony Williams to pick him up. The winner of this tussle will have a big bearing on the result. Up front for clogher, Peter Kirwan is one to watch out for. His scoring return probably should be better but he’s a very good team player, he’s good on the ball, has pace and is not afraid to go into the danger zone! He could be picked up by Ray Finnegan and that should be an interesting match up.

3) The last time these two sides met in the final in 2012, the Pats were streets ahead of clogher, this is not the case anymore. Since then the gap has closed significantly, clogher have improved and in my opinion the pats have gone back. The pats have been the best team in the county over the last 10 years and with alot of the same personnel its only natural that they’re not as strong as they once were. Clogher are a fit and pacey outfit, they’ll not be as naive as they were two years ago. Due to the Pats recent tradition and know how I wont be surprised in the slightest if they win, but im going with a Clogher win!

There you have it….Pats 7 Dreadnots 1 Draw 1 The players have spoken.

Really enjoyed that, the best I’ve ever done.
Thanks to all the lads some serious footballing brains out there.